PAL-C Promotes India-Pakistan
Peace Process on
Capitol Hill
L to R: Ambassador Durrani, Ambassador
Dennis Kux, Abdul Majeed Matoo, Congresswoman Sheila
Jackson-Lee and Mowahid Hussain Shah |
Washington, DC: The
Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C) organized a
roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill on February 07, 2007
to commemorate “Kashmir Day.” The title of the
discussion was “India-Pakistan Peace Process: Prospects
for Peace in Kashmir.” The event was very successful
with the hall packed with government officials, Congress
staff members, media personnel, and academic experts.
Opening the event, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, co-chair
of Congressional US-Pakistan caucus, said the United States
has the resources to assist in diplomacy and political reconciliation
around the world and spoke of her efforts for recognition
of contribution Pakistan has made internationally and the
sacrifices it has made. Congresswoman Lee referred to challenges
in the region including Kashmir and Afghanistan and said
that “we have to address this question of recognition
of challenges in the region in which Pakistan is situated.”
She thanked PAL-C for its efforts in promoting an educated
dialogue on the peace process and for politically mobilizing
the Pakistani community.
Dr Maqsood Chaudhry, National Director of PAL-C, in his
introduction expressed support for President Pervez Musharraf’s
four-point proposals as offering the way forward, and urged
all parties to be open to new ideas and vision. Dr. Chaudhry
emphasized PAL-C’s desire for regional peace in South
Asia and insisted that Kashmiris be an integral part of
the peace process.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Kashmiri
American Council (KAC), moderated the roundtable discussion
that included Ambassador Dennis Kux, Ambassador Mahmud Ali
Durrani, Mr. Mowahid Hussain Shah, and Mr. A..M. Mattoo.
Dr. Fai observed that there are four parties to the Kashmir
conflict - Pakistan, India, Kashmiris and the international
community - and said all of them must work for the resolution
of the UN-accepted dispute. Dr Fai stated that Pakistan
and India issued a significant statement after a meeting
between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Singh and
said Washington has been encouraging the two sides to make
progress. “The international community must express
its support for Pakistan-India peace process,” he
said and endorsed the two countries exploring all possible
options for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
Syed Mowahid Hussain Shah, adviser to Punjab Chief Minister,
delivered an impassioned speech in which he insisted that
the peace process and the killings in Kashmir could not
go together. He said no peace formulas would work if the
injustices continued. Kashmir, he added, was a moral issue,
not a dispute over real estate. He said Kashmir was occupied
but the people of Kashmir remain unconquered as force cannot
change the hearts of a people. He referred to US Senator
Chuck Hagel’s recent statement that Kashmir being
a flashpoint needs immediate attention and said the dispute
should not be allowed to linger on. “With vision,
will and moral imagination, this issue can be resolved.”
He said it should be remembered that state violence bred
individual and private group violence. The current peace
process reflected the popular mood, but if no significant
progress was made, the mood would not last. He also warned
against an “elitist” approach in resolving the
Kashmir issue, stressing that “unless it resonates
on the street,” it would simply not work. India, he
said wanted to be a big power, but it must also acquire
a big heart. The solution of the Kashmir dispute must be
democratic, he stressed.
Abdul Majeed Mattoo, a Kashmiri author, said the Kashmiris
have suffered gravely for 60 years at the hands of Indian
forces. Quoting recent instances of killings, he said the
situation in occupied Kashmir is hurting the democratic
credentials of India. Mr. Mattoo provided an eye-witness
account of ground realities in Kashmir and urged American
policymakers and the international community to highlight
the plight of the Kashmiris and to be sympathetic to their
cause. He supported the Pakistan-India dialogue but said
Kashmiris’ voice should be heard in the process. Mattoo
urged India to respond positively to Pakistan’s peace
overtures.
Ambassador Dennis Kux of Woodrow Wilson Center of International
Scholars, said progress towards resolution of the Kashmir
dispute requires mutual confidence between Pakistan, India
and the Kashmiris. The author of several books on South
Asia told the meeting that it had always been hard to solve
inter-state disputes and Kashmir would be no exception.
He said the two countries have to show flexibility and find
some mutually accepted basis for compromise. Kux said the
mere fact that the two countries have kept the dialogue
process going, shows desire on part of the leadership. He
said President Pervez Musharraf had dumped the UN Security
Council’s Kashmir Resolutions and the old demand for
a plebiscite as a practical means of resolving the issue.
India, he pointed out, welcomed a “soft borders”
approach in Kashmir. India should also give more on Siachin
than it has. Once Siachin is out of the way, the Sir Creek
dispute could be next in line for a settlement. He noted
that India and China still had their main dispute in place
but had chosen a step-by-step approach. Kux was of the view
that Washington could be “a little more pushy”
with India and Pakistan as they slowly moved towards an
eventual settlement on Kashmir.
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Mahmud Ali Durrani
expressed “cautious optimism” about what he
called a “slow but qualitative” improvement
in India-Pakistan relations. Only a movement forward in
relations between the two neighbors can resolve the Kashmir
issue. He was of the opinion that there were three strands
in relation to the Kashmir problem: official contact, back
channel diplomacy away from the glare of publicity, and
people-to-people links. The back channel process is active,
and because of increased contact, the people of India and
Pakistan have rediscovered each other. Pakistanis visiting
India and Indians visiting Pakistan have only encountered
friendship and camaraderie. Durrani said India should remove
its excessive military presence from Kashmir and human rights
violations should cease. He said Pakistan was prepared to
demilitarize its side of the Line of Control. What was needed
was greater political space for the Kashmiri people and
the continuation of an intra-Kashmiri dialogue, which would
assist the peace process. He said Pakistan had shown great
flexibility on Kashmir in an attempt to settle the issue
and India needed to do the same. “However, there is
no serious indication of any such flexibility on the part
of New Delhi,” he added. He stressed that the present
opportunity to come to terms on major outstanding disputes
must not be missed because it may not come again. Pakistan,
he added, was ready to go along. Today, he said, India had
a comfortable relationship with the United States, and Pakistan
and Washington also enjoyed good relations. While the US
cannot force either side, it can certainly be helpful.
The discussion was followed by an engaging “Question
and Answer” session.
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